Olympics-Fading fundamentals hurting U.S. basketball-Shaq

Fri, 23 Mar 22:15:00 2012

Team USA's grip on the basketball
world is being undermined by a lack of focus on fundamentals and
will eventually be threatened by emerging international powers,
according to Olympic and world championship gold medal winner
Shaquille O'Neal.

Renaissance man O'Neal, whose many pursuits since retiring
last year after a 19-year National Basketball Association (NBA)
career include TV commentary, feels players who leave college
after one year for the pros are hurting their development while
international players practice more.

"Over here, the one-and-done phase took a big stab in the
development of our young kids," O'Neal, referring to a rule that
allows players to join the NBA one year after their high school
graduating class, told Reuters in a recent interview.

"Over there in Europe, I've been at a lot of these camps,
they're sticking to the basic fundamentals and that's why they
are great shooters and great passers like (Spain's) Ricky Rubio.

"There's gonna be one day where another country is going to
dominate us in basketball."

Shaq said the weakening of fundamental skills was compounded
by the inspiration that up and coming international players get
from watching countrymen compete on the NBA stage.

There are 76 international players from 36 countries and
territories on official NBA rosters, according to the league,
including eight from France, six from Turkey, five from Spain
and four each from Argentina, Brazil and Canada.

"That's it, exactly," said O'Neal, promoting his role as a
spokesman for the Dove Men + Care skin care product.

O'Neal spent three years at Louisiana State University
before declaring himself for the 1992 NBA draft, where he was
selected with the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic. He
went on to win three consecutive NBA titles with the Los Angeles
Lakers and one with the Miami Heat.

Illustrating the surge in international basketball, the only
foreign player taken in that '92 draft was Predrag Danilovic of
Yugoslavia with the 43rd pick by the Golden State Warriors.

The one-and-done rule was introduced in 2006 to keep top
high school players from going straight to an NBA team, but Shaq
said U.S. players could benefit from even more seasoning.

IMPOSED WILL

O'Neal, at a beefy 7-foot-1, imposed his will in his
international debut at the 1994 world championships in Toronto.

He was named Most Valuable Player of the worlds, averaging
18 points and 8.5 rebounds for the second U.S. national team of
NBA players following the original "Dream Team" of the 1992
Barcelona Olympics.

Shaq admitted that being passed over for the initial "Dream
Team" fueled his desire at the 1994 competition.

"When I played for Dream Team II at the world (championship)
games, I was playing with anger," said O'Neal, who this May will
receive a PhD. in education. "I thought they should have picked
me for Dream Team I."

That group of NBA stars on the first U.S. team featuring
professionals included just one college player, with Christian
Laettner of U.S. national champions Duke selected over O'Neal.

"That was extra motivation right there," said Shaq. "I just
went out and led the team. I knew what I had to do. My job was
to dominate all the other big men. We didn't want to be known as
the team that lost.

"Dream Team one had a great record, (Dream Teams) two and
three had an unblemished record. It didn't get blemished until a
couple of years ago when the Europeans started stepping their
game up."

'VERY UPSET'

The international advance coincided with disharmony and
disarray on the U.S. national teams. O'Neal himself became
disgruntled about his treatment at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The star of the '94 world championship team was told by U.S.
coach Lenny Wilkens that center David Robinson, playing in his
third and final Olympics, would feature in the gold medal game.

"In '94, I played a lot of minutes, but then in the
(Olympic) championship game ... the coach said, 'your gonna be
in many more games. This is David's last game. We're going to
let him play.' He put me in with something like 12 seconds left.
I was very upset."

O'Neal conceded it led "a little bit" to a falling out.

"I was getting old and I was doing other stuff. I was
focused on winning championships," said 15-time NBA All-Star
O'Neal, who did not return to play for the U.S. national team.

The U.S. team stumbled badly after winning the 2000 Sydney
Olympics finishing sixth at the 2002 world championships and
taking bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2006 world
championships before rebounding to 2008 Beijing gold with the
"Redeem Team."

O'Neal sees U.S. basketball as still superior for now, but
believes the margin is narrowing fast.

"Back then, the gap was far, as far as talent was
concerned," Shaq said about his time on the international stage.

"Now it's very, very close and it's going to be one day
where they'll beat us, sad to say."